When you're making a movie about the power of faith, it doesn't hurt to have a little of it yourself — at least, in the story you're telling.

In "The Christmas Candle," a young reverend is coaxed into taking over the parish of an English village that has seen times of sadness. But this isn't one of them.

It's nearly Christmas 1890, and the village is abuzz in anticipation of the Christmas Candle: Every 25 years, the legend goes, an angel visits the village candle-maker's shop and touches a single candle. Whoever is chosen to receive that candle — and prays on it — will receive a miracle on Christmas Eve.

But the new reverend (Hans Matheson) isn't buying any of it. Wrestling with his own crises of faith, he believes miracles come from within, not from some arbitrary candle. So he decides to step in with a more personal, and pragmatic, touch.

All of which would be fine except the movie, based on a book by bestselling Christian author Max Lucado, seems to have trouble making up its mind.

Does faith come from waiting for miracles to happen, or from being the miracle for others? For most of the movie, "The Christmas Candle" can't seem to decide which, revealing the failure of one perspective and then the other, until an ending that ties everything together that suggests the answer is both — and neither.

That said, "The Christmas Candle" does have its charms.

The English village setting is cozy, warm and inviting; the movie gets bonus Englishness points for featuring Sylvester McCoy, a former Doctor Who and now a frazzled wizard in the "Hobbit" movies, as the candle-maker. Samantha Barks, as the village's only modern-minded resident and the reverend's inevitable love interest, is as charismatic as she was as Eponine, the revolutionary pining for Marius in last year's big-screen version of "Les Misérables."

And the music definitely hits the right traditional holiday notes, with help from Susan Boyle, who makes her feature-film acting debut as the wife of the church's caretaker.

About Chris Foran

Chris Foran is an assistant entertainment editor, overseeing the Tap Weekend, Tap Daily, Good Morning and TV Cue sections. He also writes about movies, books, pop culture and fun stuff to do in Milwaukee.